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People should really stop equating the marketing moniker "Pro" with pro work. What is Pro anyway? Not everybody is into high end graphics or AI. I just got 5 people in my management team an MBA M1 16/512 and I know for a fact that plenty of professional musicians can cope just fine with the same config in a mac mini. GPU is not the only parameter turning a machine pro. In my case, it's more about the amount of storage (though 2TB would probably be enough - there's servers, too).

Tell me, if the Mini is a kiddie computer then why my Hex i7 Mini exists? Why does Apple support eGPUs on any Thunderbolt 3 Intel Mac or unofficially on TB 1/2? Why did Apple purposefully create this stack to illustrate it's heavy lifting abilities? Seems pretty "Pro" to me.

Lol, iMac? No thanks. I have two perfectly color calibrated monitors.

On the same token, why are there "Pro" contractors driving around in 2000s Tacomas instead F150 Raptors? Oh yeah, it gets the job done at a fraction the price.

Apple's "Pro" moniker is pure BS. You know it, we all know it but some want to believe that there is some magic that makes it better.

Thanks for the heads up on the PC, I already have a PC laptop.

Pro should mean computers that are with high spec for people who need extra power to get a job done that they make a living off. So if you are a writer, you probably can stick a keyboard to an iPhone and that will do the job just fine even though you write for a living. The moniker is not for you.

I am pretty sure people who use their computer power to get the job done, unlike Tacoma drivers, are not using Mac Minis. They need top specs to do 3D graphics, GBs of Photoshop images, compiling software, building games, running multiple VMs, ...etc . I doubt I will go into Pixar or Sony Music HQ and they are rocking Mac Minis all over the place.

Again, Mac Mini was created as an entry point for people who are not willing to pay the higher price for the iMac. Buying Mac Mini then adding an eGPU to it, yes maybe, but you are in a very small niche here.
 
Pro should mean computers that are with high spec for people who need extra power to get a job done that they make a living off. So if you are a writer, you probably can stick a keyboard to an iPhone and that will do the job just fine even though you write for a living. The moniker is not for you.

I am pretty sure people who use their computer power to get the job done, unlike Tacoma drivers, are not using Mac Minis. They need top specs to do 3D graphics, GBs of Photoshop images, compiling software, building games, running multiple VMs, ...etc . I doubt I will go into Pixar or Sony Music HQ and they are rocking Mac Minis all over the place.

Again, Mac Mini was created as an entry point for people who are not willing to pay the higher price for the iMac. Buying Mac Mini then adding an eGPU to it, yes maybe, but you are in a very small niche here.
"I am pretty sure". You essentially said it, you don't know. There are people out there doing amazing work on older and low-end machines everywhere. Again just because you don't know it exists doesn't mean that nobody out there is.

Lol, you really think someone like Steven King is writing a book on a 5 inch screen and keyboard? Think sir think.

My bud is a tattoo artist and just upgraded his 2011 MBP's original HDD to an SSD at my recommendation. Guess he isn't pro because its old right? My i7 Mini and RX 580 have done countless gigs ranging from a simple graduation to weddings but hey, what do I know I'm apparently not "Pro".

Being Pro isn't all about having some big-ass piece of equipment, it's more about managing your resources and working within your means. Buying a Mac Pro or Highest End iMac for your "multiple VMs and/or GBs of Photoshop files" is a complete waste of money.

Get out in the real world and meet some real "Pros".
 
"I am pretty sure". You essentially said it, you don't know. There are people out there doing amazing work on older and low-end machines everywhere. Again just because you don't know it exists doesn't mean that nobody out there is.

Lol, you really think someone like Steven King is writing a book on a 5 inch screen and keyboard? Think sir think.

My bud is a tattoo artist and just upgraded his 2011 MBP's original HDD to an SSD at my recommendation. Guess he isn't pro because its old right? My i7 Mini and RX 580 have done countless gigs ranging from a simple graduation to weddings but hey, what do I know I'm apparently not "Pro".

Being Pro isn't all about having some big-ass piece of equipment, it's more about managing your resources and working within your means. Buying a Mac Pro or Highest End iMac for your "multiple VMs and/or GBs of Photoshop files" is a complete waste of money.

Get out in the real world and meet some real "Pros".

You seem to be mixing definition of a term.

You are using the term "Pro" for people who use a computer at work meanwhile I am using "Pro" for people where the computer is the main tool that they need with top grade specs to get the job done.

George R. R. Martin said he uses WordStar4 released in late 80s that works on a DOS machine to write his novels. Is he a professional writer? Yes. Is he the type of professional Apple release the MBP PRO and Mac Pro for? No.
 
You seem to be mixing definition of a term.

You are using the term "Pro" for people who use a computer at work meanwhile I am using "Pro" for people where the computer is the main tool that they need with top grade specs to get the job done.

George R. R. Martin said he uses WordStar4 released in late 80s that works on a DOS machine to write his novels. Is he a professional writer? Yes. Is he the type of professional Apple release the MBP PRO and Mac Pro for? No.

Anyone who uses a computer to get the job done is a Pro. Sorry to ruin it for you but Pro is short for professional, which is someone who is "engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime". Keep drinking the Apple Kool-Aid brother.
 
You are using the term "Pro" for people who use a computer at work meanwhile I am using "Pro" for people where the computer is the main tool that they need with top grade specs to get the job done.
Precisely. I'm an IT and broadcast pro and I mainly use a computer. But I have no need for a big honking GPU. You mention Sony and Pixar. Well, that's 2 companies out of a billion. My company manage 12 TV channels and we have people doing a few of the following tasks:
They need top specs to do 3D graphics, GBs of Photoshop images, compiling software, building games, running multiple VMs, ...etc .
Out of the examples you yourself give here, only the 3D graphics and games needs the GPU. Photoshop? Nope, memory, SSD and CPU. Compiling? Idem. VMs? Nope, memory, SSD and possibly CPU.

Now, I consider broadcast to be pretty near your definition of "Pro". It's a high end multimedia application. So even if you want to diss the writer profession as being "non-pro users who can use their iphone" for some reason, you can't get around broadcast. Yet, 90% of our machines have no need for a GPU. That includes the graphic designers, the social media team, the production team, all of my technicians etc.
 
Anyone who uses a computer to get the job done is a Pro. Sorry to ruin it for you but Pro is short for professional, which is someone who is "engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime". Keep drinking the Apple Kool-Aid brother.

I agree on that, but the point I was trying to say that PRO in Apple's case is probably targeting people who need high specs for their work. It does not mean someone who uses a computer for work.

Precisely. I'm an IT and broadcast pro and I mainly use a computer. But I have no need for a big honking GPU. You mention Sony and Pixar. Well, that's 2 companies out of a billion. My company manage 12 TV channels and we have people doing a few of the following tasks:

Out of the examples you yourself give here, only the 3D graphics and games needs the GPU. Photoshop? Nope, memory, SSD and CPU. Compiling? Idem. VMs? Nope, memory, SSD and possibly CPU.

Now, I consider broadcast to be pretty near your definition of "Pro". It's a high end multimedia application. So even if you want to diss the writer profession as being "non-pro users who can use their iphone" for some reason, you can't get around broadcast. Yet, 90% of our machines have no need for a GPU. That includes the graphic designers, the social media team, the production team, all of my technicians etc.

Who said the PRO models means a dedicated GPU? As you mentioned the higher spec SSDs, CPUs, RAM, more ports, are also a feature of the PRO models. Pro does not mean just a dedicated GPU.
 
Who said the PRO models means a dedicated GPU? As you mentioned the higher spec SSDs, CPUs, RAM, more ports, are also a feature of the PRO models. Pro does not mean just a dedicated GPU.
I assumed it because it was prominent in your explanations, pointing people in the direction of machines with dGPUs or suggesting eGPU. But the point remains the same. 90% of the people where I work won't need more than the mini's 2TB of SSD or other specs (CPU, connectivity, RAM, ...). Even our video editing machines don't have more than the mini's 64GB max RAM.

Apple should just drop the Pro moniker and revert back to Power. PowerMac, PowerBook, ... for people who want a machine that is more powerful in one way or another.
 
Even our video editing machines don't have more than the mini's 64GB max RAM.

This is confusing for me because my understanding that video editing like Adobe Premier, AVID, and Final Cut need major hardware resources and the general idea is the more power the better.
 
This is confusing for me because my understanding that video editing like Adobe Premier, AVID, and Final Cut need major hardware resources and the general idea is the more power the better.
Yes, but there's a limitation on how much is useful. I bought myself a 64GB machine thinking I'd need it for all the VMs I wanted to use. But all of these VMs have a max of 8GB RAM. If I really push it, I may end up over 32GB of RAM, but that's exceptional. So I could've saved myself some cash there.

In our video editing case, we're a sports broadcaster. So our edits involve pretty big files (matches of 2 or more hours) but never many layers. In many other types of video editing (video clips, commercials, TV series, ...) the number of layers is much higher. And that's what's taking up all your RAM memory. So we cope fine with 64GB.
 
Yes, but there's a limitation on how much is useful. I bought myself a 64GB machine thinking I'd need it for all the VMs I wanted to use. But all of these VMs have a max of 8GB RAM. If I really push it, I may end up over 32GB of RAM, but that's exceptional. So I could've saved myself some cash there.

In our video editing case, we're a sports broadcaster. So our edits involve pretty big files (matches of 2 or more hours) but never many layers. In many other types of video editing (video clips, commercials, TV series, ...) the number of layers is much higher. And that's what's taking up all your RAM memory. So we cope fine with 64GB.

well let me just say this, 32gb+ RAM and Terabytes of storage is already PRO level even if the Mac Mini does not have the moniker. I am not PRO and I have 8GB and my machine is speedy already. So in a sense, you say you use Mac Mini at work but it does have PRO specs tbh. Will the Mac Mini top tier $900 8GB-RAM and 512GB storage enough for your needs? if not you already broke into PRO level specs.
 
well let me just say this, 32gb+ RAM and Terabytes of storage is already PRO level even if the Mac Mini does not have the moniker. I am not PRO and I have 8GB and my machine is speedy already. So in a sense, you say you use Mac Mini at work but it does have PRO specs tbh. Will the Mac Mini top tier $900 8GB-RAM and 512GB storage enough for your needs? if not you already broke into PRO level specs.
Fully agree! Except the 64GB / 2TB machine is my personal one and the mac mini at work is an M1 16/512. It is, actually, enough because I don't use it for VMs. At work, I have a server for that :)
 
Fully agree! Except the 64GB / 2TB machine is my personal one and the mac mini at work is an M1 16/512. It is, actually, enough because I don't use it for VMs. At work, I have a server for that :)

So at work you use a Mac Mini that logs into a server that does the heavy lifting?
OOT but I am interested how this works, so they install a VM software on the server then you login to the server using what? command line? then you launch the VM and log into it using RealVNC?

is there any lag-delay when using software?
 
So at work you use a Mac Mini that logs into a server that does the heavy lifting?
OOT but I am interested how this works, so they install a VM software on the server then you login to the server using what? command line? then you launch the VM and log into it using RealVNC?

is there any lag-delay when using software?
It depends. Some servers (mainly Linux based), we use SSH to log in for administration. Others are Windows Server based and we use VNC or Remote Desktop. I have my own pet server that I've configured for plenty of mundane tasks (file server, internal DNS, ...) and I've added a Windows VM on it for those few times I need Windows - Remote Desktop to it and I can run Windows software. That frees me of the M1 limitation of not being able to run Windows software. Then there are servers with web interfaces.

As for the delay, it's manageable. It's not like I'm trying to game or edit video (though that's been done remotely before!). VNC isn't the best but Remote Desktop is very good over a LAN. I even use it to connect to a Windows VM at home, and at home, my Internet is just 100Mbit. It's fine for occasional stuff.
 
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